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Portable fluoroscope, Europe, 1912-1922

A fluoroscope allows physicians and surgeons to look inside the body without developing an X-ray. The fake fur rim was worn over the physician’s eyes, secured with elastic and textile around the head so the square screen was focussed on the patient’s body. Here the physician could ‘see’ inside the body. Portable fluoroscopes are still used today but are smaller and do not require users to wear the device. This example was made by Patterson X-Ray Screens and was donated by Guy’s Hospital in London.

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Glossary

Glossary:

Glossary: x-ray photograph

An internal image of the body that is produced by exposing a photographic plate to X-rays.

Glossary: fluoroscope

An X-ray device equipped with a fluorescent screen on which a patient's insides can be viewed in real time. The patient is constantly exposed to a low X-ray radiation, in contrast to a normal X-ray machine which uses a short burst of a higher level of radiation.

Glossary: fluoroscopy

The practice of shining a fluorescent back light through X-rays to create an image without developing X-ray photographs. Known as fluoroscopic images.